STAR (1876-1880)

The Star in heavy seas (painting Ross Shardlow ?)

Description:

2 Masted fore-and-aft Schooner

Owner:

J. and W. Bateman of Fremantle WA .Master: Captain John Sheppard

Construction:

Timber

Sunk:

1880/10/20

Size:

70 tons length 24.10m beam 5.30m depth 2.30m

Underwater:

The remains of the Star, badly broken up, lie on the reef. These include some of the timbers, ballast stones, ironwork, chinaware and glass bottles. An excavation of the site was carried out by the WA Museum in 1983, with assistance from local divers. Since this was the first locally-built ship to be investigated by the Museum, the main interest was the hull—found to be in good condition and made of local wood. After analysis, these were determined to be jarrah, a sapwood, red mahogany and red gum (the latter two possibly of New South Wales origin). No whaling equipment was found, but large pulleys indicated a need to lift heavy, bulky cargoes. Among the artefacts recovered were a brass ship’s log, a penny dated 1876 and various types of ceramic wares.

Built:

1876 by Thomas Mews at Arthurs Head, Fremantle

Location:

Sisters Reef, off Point Kennedy

Sinking:

Just after 3.00 am the Star struck Murray Reefs about 1½ miles south of The Sisters. Captain Sheppard had been lying asleep on the deck near the helmsman when the lookout saw waves breaking over a reef. The wheel was immediately put hard up to port and the captain woken. He took over the helm a few minutes before the vessel struck. The dinghy was lowered, and a kedge anchor taken out so as to try and haul the schooner away from the rocks. However, before this could be achieved the Star filled with water and sank in two fathoms (3.7 m) of water. The whaleboats were then launched and the crew rowed them and the dinghy to Becher Point. At first light next morning, the dinghy with mast and sails fitted and manned by three men, was sent to Fremantle to seek help.

Longitude:

115.683833

Latitude:

-32.3765000